1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), and more particularly to treatment plans for IMPT.
2. Description of Related Art
Radiation therapy systems can be used to provide treatment to patients suffering a variety of conditions. Radiation therapy can be used to perform selective cell destruction, useful in controlling cancers. To perform radiation therapy, a quantity of radiation can be directed into targeted tissue with the goal of damaging the targeted tissue while limiting or minimizing damage to non-targeted tissue.
Proton therapy is a form of radiation therapy that uses protons to destroy targeted cells. Proton therapy can be an efficacious way to selectively destroy targeted cells because protons have unique dosimetric characteristics compared to other radiation, such as electrons or photons. Protons deposit most of their energy near the end of their path through a tissue, compared to photons, for example, which deposit an exponentially decreasing amount of energy as a function of penetration depth. Thus, a proton therapy system can achieve greater targeted treatment compared to photon-based therapy (e.g., exposing targeted tissue to more radiation and/or healthy tissue to less radiation) because an operator can control a depth of penetration and dose profile of protons by selecting an initial energy of the protons. Proton therapy can be delivered using several techniques, including passive scattering, pencil beam scanning, and intensity-modulated proton therapy.